OuterRimNews.com was on hand for the official “Phasma” and “Leia” book launch event at Dragon Con this past Friday night. The event was held as part of the Star Wars Track at the convention. To be honest I didn’t know what to expect from an event like this, but was pleasantly surprised by the turnout. The line before the start of the panel started at the entrance to the room, then went back to about 150 feet, and the folded around twice! Once in the room was packed, with even more people waiting outside for a chance to get books signed.
The night started out with the panel crew escorting us into the room, in a very certain order, so that each of us had a good chance at snagging a copy of the book. There was a limited supply of both books on hand for purchase, and from what I could tell, more people there than books.
We were then greeted with an introduction by the moderator of both Claudia Gray and Delilah S. Dawson. The first question was for both authors to describe their books. Dawson started out by describing her book as “Mad Max meets Star Wars”, which garnered a huge cheer from the audience. She then went on to say, that the book gives you a nice view of what the inside of First Order Star Destroyer looks like. Gray described her book as “a bridge between Rogue One and Episode VIII”.
The next question centered on which characters from the Star Wars universe would they like to write about in the future. Dawson chose the easy way out and said any character, but Jar Jar Binks. Gray already had something in mind though. She said a buddy cop type of book featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, or a Lando Calrissian book. This answer also received a nice reaction from the crowd.
A question was asked of Gray about some of the Lost Stars characters, and if we would ever see them again, specifically Ransolm Casterfo. Many fans wanted answers about his fate. Gray said that she would love to write about that group again, but it would have to take place after the Battle of Jakku, and that portion of the Star Wars timeline is off limits right now, per Lucasfilm.
One of the final questions of the night centered on female authors, and why they could not write anything other than female-centric Star Wars books. Ultimately the answer was that it came down to timing, but it is something that would surely happen.
At the end of the event, the moderator brought out a fantastic cosplay Captain Phasma. The woman cosplaying as the chrome trooper, was pretty much spot-on with her look. After the fact we all got to purchase books, and have them signed by the authors. A nice panel indeed!
You can currently purchase both Phasma and Leia from Amazon.
